Bob Beck

Bob Beck has been News Director of Wyoming Public Radio since 1988. During his time as News Director WPR has won 94 national, regional and state news awards. Bob has received the WEA School Bell Award for education reporting and was honored by the Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving for his reporting. He was also the voice of an Emmy award winning documentary on memory. He has covered the Wyoming Legislature longer than any broadcaster in the state and is a frequent political guest and host on Wyoming PBS.

Bob also taught broadcast news at the University of Wyoming for 20 years and his 1998 television reporting class won a regional Emmy for reporting excellence. He also was twice given a Top Prof award by the UW Mortar Board. Bob is also active in community events and co-chaired the 2009 Albany County United Way Campaign with his wife Debra.

Prior to coming to WPR, Bob worked as a News and Sportscaster at stations in Wyoming and Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and is a native of Wheaton, Illinois in suburban Chicago. When he is not working he is running, mountain biking, doing CrossFit, walking his dog, or cheering on his beloved Packers, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and Salukis.

Ways to Connect

Despite some strong opposition, the Wyoming House of Representatives gave final approval to a bill that would set up an investments task force with the goal of getting more money out of Wyoming’s investments.

A Senate legislative committee has approved two bills intended to help address the state’s opioid problem. One bill sets up a task force to determine what the problem is and what could be done about it and the other sets up tracking for controlled substance prescriptions in the state.

Kemmerer Senator Fred Baldwin says they want to track prescriptions so they know who is getting what and how often.

You may have heard a little about Blockchain, but if some people in Wyoming have their way, you will learn a lot about it. Because according to these experts, legislation that Wyoming lawmakers are considering this year could open the floodgates for Blockchain businesses. Some lawmakers are comparing it to the internet boom of the 1990’s and say it could completely change Wyoming’s economic future.

U.S. Air Force Major General Don Alston was in charge of the nation’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force at F.E. Warren Air Force base and is considered an expert on nuclear deterrence.

He’s currently a consultant on the issue and lives in Cheyenne. Major General Alston joins Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck to discuss a recent review of the nation’s nuclear system and what needs to be done to prepare the country for some new threats. Alston says a recent report indicated that the nation is facing some challenges.

A State Senate Committee voted to unanimously support a bill that will help the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality clean up abandoned contaminated sites in the state. The DEQ has been busy repairing a number of so-called orphan sites around the state where the companies are no longer available to pay for the cleanup.

Luke Esch of the DEQ says the legislation provides money from an account funded by taxes and fees.

"Really allows us to get away from general funds and find a sustainable source of funding for these projects."

In his final state of the state message, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead stressed the need to restore some budget cuts, work to diversify the economy, and look for long-term ways to fund education.

Mead says Wyoming did a good job cutting the budget to deal with a revenue shortfall, but now that the revenue picture has improved, he would like to see the legislature restore funding cuts for agencies such as the Departments of Health and Corrections.

This week, after months of discussion, a legislative committee defeated a number of tax increase measures. The Joint Revenue Committee was hoping to find money to pay for a revenue shortfall that some thought could reach a billion dollars. Then a funny thing happened over the summer, the revenue picture improved just enough that taxes could be avoided.

Later this month the Wyoming Legislature will be asked to consider a bill that will hopefully stabilize Wyoming’s Air Service. Senate Vice President Michael Von Flatern of Gillette is the main sponsor and he joins Bob Beck to explain the concept.

The spring semester season of the University of Wyoming’s Cultural series gets underway next week. Janelle Fletcher is the Director of Fine Arts Outreach and Cultural programs at the University of Wyoming. The season features a wide range of programs including some amazing acrobats. She joins Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck.

After hearing that the state’s revenue picture is improving thanks to rising oil prices, the legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee rejected five tax proposals.

They were intended to help address a $500 million shortfall in education funding. The committee defeated a one percent leisure and hospitality tax on a tie vote and refused to consider four other proposals that included raising sales and property taxes.

House Minority Leader Cathy Connolly says when the short-term funding crisis disappeared this fall, there was no longer an appetite for taxes.

The first one asks state education officials to develop a plan where 67 percent of Wyoming’s working age population would hold a post-secondary degree or certificate by 2025, and for 82 percent to achieve that by 2040.

Four years ago a judge ruled that Wyoming’s drug laws only deal with plant forms of marijuana which means that people with large amounts of edible marijuana could not face felony charges. Law enforcement agencies have asked the legislature to address the matter, but it’s been a tough battle. As Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck reports neither side has been willing to budge.

In Wyoming, pot is illegal. Not so in neighboring Colorado, where recreational marijuana is available in a variety of different forms.

A study of seven rural states by the Bipartisan Policy Center found that there are challenges to health care delivery. One of the states it studied was Wyoming which has fewer doctors, higher workplace deaths and problems with substance abuse. Heidi Schultz is the Rural Healthcare Program Officer with the Helmsley Trust, which has partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center. She tells Bob Beck that Wyoming only has 65 primary care physicians per 100,000 people, much lower than the national average.

Sheridan has attracted a firearms manufacturer that is expected to provide between 70 and 90 jobs. Weatherby Inc. announced Tuesday that it will relocate its manufacturing operations to Sheridan after over 70 years in California.

Weatherby said it is coming to Sheridan because of its available workforce and Wyoming’s business-friendly environment. Sheridan City Administrator Mark Collins said the community is the site of a number of manufacturing companies, and he thinks that helped attract their business.

Last year the governor set up the Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming Council, better known as ENDOW.

After a few months of touring the state and meetings, ENDOW has developed a list of recommendations to start setting the stage for diversifying the economy. Greg Hill is the Chairman of Endow and he tells Bob Beck why ENDOW is different from past economic development efforts.

Following a legislative meeting a few weeks ago where some citizens verbally attacked a legislator, the Wyoming legislature’s management council says it will better train committee chairmen to properly handle such attacks.

An effort to become more efficient within state government could generate several million dollars in savings.

The legislature’s management council was told that consolidating human resources, using technology more effectively, and more aggressively going after grants in education could provide the state millions of dollars.

Former Democratic U.S. House Candidate Gary Trauner has announced that he will run for Wyoming’s U.S. Senate seat. The seat is currently held by John Barrasso who is up for re-election. Trauner who calls himself an organizational and financial entrepreneur most recently served as the Chief Operating Office of St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Jackson. He said he’s running because government is no longer working.

This week the legislature’s Revenue Committee pushed off a number of tax measures until the end of January.

The committee has been trying to find revenue to offset losses in revenue that led to massive budget cuts, including a renewed effort to reduce education funding. Wyoming Public Radio’s Caroline Ballard speaks with News Director Bob Beck about this.

The longtime President of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Jerry Blann is stepping down next year. He has overseen major changes at the resort since 1995. He joins Bob Beck to discuss how his vision to make the ski area a destination spot became a reality.